Trump replaces 'E pluribus unum' with 'Make America Great Again' on presidential coin
- President Donald Trump had a personal hand in redesigning the presidential "challenge coin," as The Washington Post reported Friday.
- The phrase "E pluribus unum" will no longer appear on it. Instead, Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" will be present on the coin.
President Donald Trump made a number of alterations to what is known as the presidential "challenge coin," including replacing the US motto "E pluribus unum" that appears on currency with his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again," The Washington Post reported Friday.
The Latin phrase "E pluribus unum" means "out of many, one." Now, the coin features "Make America Great Again" on both sides.
A number of other changes were made to the coin, which presidents have handed out as momentos for about two decades. The 13 arrows representing the original 13 colonies have been removed, and Trump's name appears three times on the coin, which is much thicker than its predecessors. And as one White House aide told The Post, the coin is "very gold," adding that Trump "wanted to weigh in on" its design.
A second White House aide told The Post that the coins will "be used in ways they haven't been in the past," which included being distributed at rallies and to donors.
Here is the coin compared to past models:
The coin is often gifted to members of the military, and ethics experts questioned to The Post the inclusion of Trump's campaign slogan.
"For the commander in chief to give a political token with a campaign slogan on it to military officers would violate the important principle of separating the military from politics, as well as diminishing the tradition of the coin," Trevor Potter, a Republican former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told The Post.